WASHINGTON, Jan. 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Discovery Institute is pleased to announce Tom Shakely, who serves as Chief Engagement Officer at Americans United for Life, has joined the Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism as a Research Fellow where he will focus on human dignity, human rights, and law and policy.

“Tom’s passionate and distinctive voice on the human right to life will be a powerful addition to Discovery Institute’s interdisciplinary community of scholars and policy advocates,” said Steve Buri, President of Discovery Institute.

“We’re living through a time of increasingly sophisticated, and ultimately brutal, attacks on human rights,” said Wesley J. Smith, Senior Fellow of the Center on Human Exceptionalism. “Tom is a powerful advocate for the principle of universal human rights who understands the importance of asking this central question: ‘Does every human life have equal moral value simply and merely because it is human?'”

Tom Shakely serves as Chief Engagement Officer at Americans United for Life, where he hosts “Life, Liberty, and Law,” featuring conversations on the human right to life. Tom has spoken on human rights issues at the United Nations, testified to the District of Columbia City Council on conscience rights, and advised on testimony before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and U.S. House of Representatives. Tom holds a B.A. in Political Science from the Pennsylvania State University, M.S. in Bioethics from the University of Mary, and Certification with Distinction in Health Care Ethics from the National Catholic Bioethics Center.

“I’ve admired the Discovery Institute for its ability to transcend partisanship and factionalism in American life, and I’ve particularly admired Wesley J. Smith’s relentless commitment to engaging issues of human dignity and human rights,” said Tom Shakely. “I’m grateful to contribute to the conversation on these essential issues.”

Discovery Institute is a public policy think tank whose mission is to advance a culture of purpose, creativity, and innovation. The Institute’s Center on Human Exceptionalism exists to affirm and uphold the intrinsic nature of human dignity, liberty, and equality, examining the entire spectrum of issues relating to human life in order to inspire, inform, and equip thought and policy leaders with a comprehensive vision of the importance of being human as the predicate to universal human rights and human flourishing.

For more information contact Discovery Institute at Discovery Institute at (206) 292-0401 x1070 or via e-mail at info@discovery.org.